Day 1 – Greiss gets start against Columbus, Sharks add Pelech for toughness — and more

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The abbreviated season’s longest road trip kicks off tonight with Thomas Greiss in net and Matt Pelech – last seen in training camp as a defenseman – on a forward line.

With Andrew Desjardins missing a second game with those flu/cold-like symptoms and with Frazer McLaren and Brandon Mashinter no longer an option when looking to add toughness, the Sharks have turned to Pelech.

Who couldn’t be happier about the opportunity.

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“I’m super-excited to be here,” he said. “Hopefully I can get in and play physical and get in on the forecheck and get some hits in.”

The Pelech stat that jumps out at you is 177 penalty minutes in 34 games. He might have played in a few more, but a couple AHL suspensions got in the way. Pelech explained them as either sticking up for teammates or a hit that took a bad turn.

This isn’t the 25-year-old Pelech’s NHL debut. A first-round pick by the Calgary Flames in the 2005 draft, he had five games with the Flames in the 2008-09 season, registering three assists and nine penalty minutes. Since then, however, it’s been strictly the AHL with Abbotsford and Worcester.

In Worcester, he’s been used more at forward than on defense. And Pelech said the transition has been less difficult than he might have expected.

“It’s not as hard as I thought it would be to go back and forth,” he said. “I think mainly because the staff has taken the time to help me out and show me what they expect and how they want me to play. It’s been fun actually because I’m getting to help out in two different ways.”

McLelllan described Pelech as a “utility guy” who earned his shot at this level.

“A little more size and a little more strength then we’ve had there,” the coach said.

The decision to play Greiss should not be a surprise with a game Tuesday night in Nashville. Though he lost his most recent start in Anaheim one week ago, Greiss wasn’t the issue in that 2-1 loss and his only other appearance was a 4-0 shutout of Colorado on Jan. 26.

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“Both his games, he’s been very solid,” McLellan said. “He gets beat on the trick goal in Anaheim off the boards and you can’t blame for that. He’s been one goal against basically in two games. Not a lot of rebounds, and guys enjoy when he’s in the net. We feel comfortable with him.”

*****When you look at what’s ahead on this road trip, the game is pretty much a must-win for the Sharks who are 0-2-2 since getting off to that perfect start through seven games. Columbus, after all, occupies the bottom spot in the Western Conference with 8 points and dropped a 3-1 decision Sunday night at home against Edmonton.

Every other stop on this trip comes against a team over .500 (under the NHL’s admittedly generous point system) and two of the remaining five games are against a Blackhawks team that has played one-fourth of the season with no losses.

The somewhat-struggling Sharks, of course, can’t afford to look at tonight’s game as some sort of mismatch. And they’re saying all the right things.

“You see a little bit of how they played last night,” said Joe Pavelski, who was among those who watchd at least part of the Columbus-Edmonton game on TV. “It was a hard game, and they easily could have been on top. They had the chances, and did a lot of good things.

“For us, it shouldn’t really matter,” he added. “We know they’re going to come and be hard. They’ve taken a lot of teams right to the end. We haven’t exactly been great the last four games.”

Added Dan Boyle: “They don’t have a lot of big name players, but you don’t need that, as long as you work hard. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you don’t let up because you’re playing one team.”

*****Todd Richards, the former Sharks assistant coach who is running things on the Columbus bench for a second season, offered this assessment of the San Jose team he faces tonight.

“To me, they’re a really motivated group,” Richards said. “They’re big, they play with speed, they have an identity in how they play. They’re a fast team and what makes them fast is how they move the puck. They have guys that can get up and down the ice, but they play a game where their execution is sharp which allows them to play faster.”

Let’s get back to that part about being motivated.

“I wasn’t there, I don’t know – but I’m guessing from the outside looking in, there was a huge disappointment coming off last season,” Richards said. “They had some success, they’ve stumbled a little bit but they’ve got a great coaching staff and great leaders on that team who know what it takes to win.”

The fact his own team played the previous night while the Sharks are rested, he said “it’s really important that we manage the game, manage the puck. If we’re sloppy with it, if our execution isn’t sharp, this is a team that’ll eat that up.”

*****The morning skate was an optional one so it’s very risky to read anything into the lines or defense pairings, especially when Marty Havlat and Brad Stuart stayed off the ice. Both, by the way, will play tonight, according to McLellan.

But McLellan did have Clowe-Thornton-Pavelski together again.

On defense, it appears that Douglas Murray will be back in the lineup after missing one game as he came off the ice long before Jason Demers. But McLellan wouldn’t commit just yet.

*****Finally, McLellan said after the 1-0 shootout loss to Phoenix that changes might be made to a power play that is 1-for-25 as of late. But today he said that while the topic was addressed, he’ll give the same players a chance to fix things.

“But it will be a pretty short leash,” he added.”

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

I see where you’re going with this. Is there much Pinterest or trending on Twitter? Is it Linkdin with Groupon. Sure would be SweetJack.

ROFLMAO

ZEKE

There was one play that summed up the Sharks play to me. Wingels came in and took a shot from an angle. Mason saved it wiht his pad and the rebound kicked out into the center of the ice in front of the goal. Handzus was curling in towards Wingels and the puck bounced off the goalie and went behind him.

its pretty common to throw a puck at the goalie’s pad from an angle have the goalie kick the puck out in the middle. Handzus didn’t anticipate what Wingels was doing — and a good scoring chance went away (and mostly unnoticed, I suspect). That is the sort of ‘chemistry’ play that good teams figure out. A guy goes wide, throws it off the goalie pad. The puck gets kicked out right onto the stick of a Shark who fires it back at the goal with the goalie still out of position. But that didn’t happen tonight — and its not happening since the first few games.

Bustin Jeeber

On a night when the Tor maple leafs and the Colum blue Jackets are looking better than the Sharks, the players should hang their heads in shame.

puckace

Couldn’t watch the 3rd period. Don’t think I’ll bother with the recording either. Rose is right. This game was a turd. Just down right embarrassing.

I’ll leave the blog tonight to those who still spend their days connecting dots.

sharkeliot

Sharks are in trouble. Same issues as last year. Slow and Predictable. At some point Doug is going to have to change the Core of this team because it’s all too familiar and way to complacent

Stevo

hockeynut #168 wrote:

It is NOT firesale time yet but if they don’t come home with at least 6 points on this road trip it might be time to think about some real changes.

What do you mean, it “might” be time for a fire sale? You’re not sure?

GSDubs

As posted previously, 15 of next 20 are on the road beginnig tonight. They will not get half the available points. Posters in here will be screaming for a major house cleaning by that time.

Stevo

Little Shiv. It’s pretty obvious when you impersonate me. You don’t have the English skills nor the IQ to do it well enough to fool anyone.

But thanks for playin’.

I hope Mr. Pollak bans you for that, just like he did the last time.

Stevo

Yep. Sharks are done. No reason to watch their games, nor come to WTC. See ya all on the Giants blog.

Bye bye.

Stevo

Seriously. Did it ever occur to you, when you read Mr. Pollak’s posting (at the top) he mentions Desi not playing because of the flu? Boyle had it before him. Likely other players coming down with it, or have it.

Teams, by definition, spend time in close proximity to their teammates.

If you ever traveled much, you’d know that flying in a plane for days and days, hanging out with a bunch of sick people will likely get you infected?

Players would never use it as an excuse, but try playing a late night game on the West Coast, then fly to the Eastern time zone, arriving in the wee hours of the morning. Then having only one day to acclimate. It’s doable when you’re not sick.

If you have the flu, it’s a lot like playing on 2 hours sleep.

But you pro hockey types already knew that.

Stevo

GSDubs,

What’s the latest from your souce(s) on the Burns malpractice?

Bill

Look at the stats for Thornton over the past 4 years and you will see a steady decline in performance, including goals, points and shots. Many said that his game evolved into a more complete player, but I call BS. Marleau has a history of up and down seasonal performances and therefore cannot be considered dependable. The other forwards are no longer contributing (Clowe and Pavelski) and others have done little at all.

I think the trade for Burns was not a good one. I don’t consider him to be an elite defender nor do I think he will evolve into one. The Sharks have devolved into an average hockey team. Their stats last year put them exactly in the middle of the NHL. There were no significant changes in the off season that added depth or scoring. Why would the Sharks trade scorers, averaging a combined 60 goals a season for a defender who can’t defend and adds little to the offense. Probably the worst trade the Sharks have made.

The early success the Sharks had has disappeared as teams have finally had time to get fit, make adjustments and begin to reach playing season form. If this what the Sharks are bringing to the table they are going to have a very dismal season.

Robinson was brought on board to right the ship when the coaching firings occur and management begins to clean out the locker room.

SharksFanEst1994

If Todd McLellan coached the Coyotes instead of the Sharks, does anyone in here think the Yotes would have won the division and gone to the Conference finals last year?

Probably not.

Perhaps the first step in any correction should be to make a coach change.

SharksFanEst1994

Along that same line, Marleau and Ray Whitney had about the same point totals last year. If Marleau had played for Phoenix last year instead of Whitney, would Phoenix have gone to the Conference finals?

Em, probably not. But why? About the same point totals. Is one a winner and the other not as much?

Tom

And when you read this from Joe Thornton

”Right off the start, the first shift, they score a goal. You don’t want to do that,” San Jose captain Joe Thornton said of Dubinsky’s first goal of the season. ”But then we played some good hockey. You’re down 3-1 and then they score again to start the third period. It was just one of those games you put behind, you get ready for tomorrow.”

I think says a lot about his leadership ability. No anger, no disappointment just shrugging it off as another game. Good ole Joe, can you tell me the part of the game where the Sharks played some “Good Hockey?” must of missed that point.

Stevo

Silver linings to this game.

Sharks shut out streak ends.
Marleau’s goal-less streak ends.

Because this was such an embarrassment, it becomes one of the games coaches love because they use them against the less motivated player(s) on the team, and the team as a whole. If the Sharks are healthy/rested enough, they should play a good game in NSH.

They get an extra hour of sleep being in the Central time zone.

I can’t find anything much that is positive about that stinker of a game.

SharksFanEst1994

Can certain points scored at certain times be more important than other points? Certainly. Some points are more important than others. A game winning goal in the Cup finals is certainly more important than a second assist in a 6-1 regular season blowout. Do certain players, perhaps a Whitney, score more “important” points than other players, perhaps a Marleau, at more important times?

Deep thoughts…

Scott Peterson

Bingo Bill!

Matthew

Tom, would you prefer Joe to have a tantrum? He is likely seething… And cares deeply. The fact that he is diplomatic doesn’t bother me as it does you. If he was more animated, I have a feeling many would say it was hollow and he needed to do more on the ice and less with his mouth… Some always feel it’s all Joe’s fault, others ay Patty, others say McLellean… They all share, but my personal opinion is that it is less Joe than others.

PlasticPuck14

damn I think I’m going to be sick…please get your collective s*** together.
This season is too short to f*** around..dammit!

Stevo

SharksFan1994 wrote:

Along that same line, Marleau and Ray Whitney had about the same point totals last year. If Marleau had played for Phoenix last year instead of Whitney, would Phoenix have gone to the Conference finals?

Your premise is flawed. Ray Whitney wasn’t the sole reason PHX had such success. It was a team effort. Coaching. But if you want one player to highlight on PHX? Mike Smith.

One player cannot be the reason for so many wins.

You should know that.

SharksFanEst1994

Stevo:

Aha! I wasn’t stating a position, I was simply asking a question. You should see that…

Stevo

Oh, and you Schleprocks forgot to whine about the utter and complete demise of the PK.

Didn’t you know they gave up 2?

2!!! The sky is officially falling.

ppc

@ 217 not that deep, the GWG stat is pretty much the proxy for that. Check where marleau and whitney place on that list.

Andy

Stevo,

Your whining about other peoples posts is getting really really old and very predictable. Takes up a lot of blog space for you to say nothing but too just complain consistently about people complaining. You must be a really bored person.

Andy

ppc,

GWG mean nothing unless put in proper context. You know who had the winning goal in tongihts game. And that is the point, getting a gwg in a 6-2 game is not the same as getting an OT winner or a GWG in a 2-1 game.

SJM

The Sharks were “outworked, out-executed, out-detailed, out-goaltended, out- a lot of things,” head coach Todd McLellan told the San Jose Mercury News.

LineTwoRW

Embarrassing game but its in the past. Bright side: NSH on Tues to focus on.

Stevo

How’d you like to be a Blues fan? Lost 5 in a row (ANA got the win, right?)

Now THAT is a team that is expected to compete for the Cup, and by the end of April, they probably will likely be in great shape. But the Blues, just like the Sharks, show how Hockey Happens during a season.

But the Schleprocks are correct.. Sharks won’t win another game all year.

NY Rangers in 8th place. Sky is falling in Manhattan, eh? Bet they are calling for Tort’s head on a platter there.

Not likely. Ranger fans actually know hockey.

Teejay

MLBSF1:

I think this team is in serious trouble, but I think if what you say the coach tells the players and it goes in one ear and out the other, then that is a coaching problem. The coach either has to kick some butt or see that that player is removed from the team. You MUST have some discipline. If the coach can’t do this, then he shouldn’t be coaching.

Yes, I agree that Marleau is a choker in the playoffs (like the rest of the team), but he consistently contributes 20-30 goals per season.

ppc

#226 no, they mean something for the most part. obviously there are exceptions, but generally it means you score goals while both teams are contesting the match (i.e. at their best). an early game goal doesn’t necessarily mean anything more than an OT goal, especially in regular season when OT is 4 on 4.

no metric is perfect but you’d have a hard time making the case that a 2-1 gwg is more important than any other gwg, since no two games’ circumstances are the same.

the proof is in the pudding, teams with patrick marleau scoring goals for them have made the playoffs more often and played more playoff games than those with ray whitney scoring goals for them, in a shorter period of time. it’s not a mistake that marleau is so much higher up the list than whitney. it’s not a mistake you see the names you do on the gwg list.

Stevo

Andy, et. al.

Learn hockey, bring some analysis that reflects same.

Thanks.

Stevo

1994 #217,

I’m hoping you know the answer to that question. I mean, you set it up so well, I was disappointed that you didn’t cite the stats to prove your premise.

But ppc #232 did a pretty good job with logic and referencing Marleau’s PO stats in a general way. He’s right. Ray Whitney can’t hold a candle in playoff stats to Patrick. And Whitney played longer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great hockey player.

Yes, I agree that Marleau is a choker in the playoffs (like the rest of the team), but he consistently contributes 20-30 goals per season.

Please read my #233 (although post #’s can change at a later date) re Marleau being a playoff choker.

Facts matter Teejay.

GSDubs

Stevo…no updates but havent been in communication with him since our original conversation. He is very close to the medical side of the issue. I will find out more details on that. Regarding the legal part, he offered nothing other than implications. I think – and I’m only trying to connect the dots here – that legal means agent involvement regarding the medical issues and the subsequent back and forth between the Sharks and Burns’ representatives. The delay to Burns’ return having more to do with these conflicts than due to his actual health.

MLBSF1

Well Teejay,

I think it’s like what happened in Washington with Boudreau. The players just for whatever reason stopped listening to him and playing for him.

I’m not saying McLellan isn’t to blame because I think some of his decisions are just plain stupid.

As for Marleau, I get that he scores a lot of goals during the regular season. But something isn’t right about the guy. I think the Sharks would be better without him.

Case in point, Monta Ellis gets traded from the Warriors. Up until his trade Stephan Curry wasn’t anything special. Both good players who had trouble co-existing and helping the team win.

So what happens once Monta is traded? Curry has been unbelievable. The true Stephan Curry has come out.

I can’t put my finger on why, but I just know the Sharks will never win with Marleau as part of the equation. Just like Washington will never win with Ovechkin.

I don’t think I’m wrong.

Stevo

GSDubs,

Thanks for the fuller picture. That makes more sense to me, considering Burns’ answers in the press before playing in a game, and certainly the ones after his 1st game against PHX.

From WTC:Burns skated with his teammates for the first time, but wasn’t exactly optimistic afterward about the progress he’s making as he recovers from a lower body injury presumably tied to the off-season hernia surgery he had in May.

“I think every day I’m just trying to get better,” Burns said. “It’s coming.”

Was he encouraged?

“I wouldn’t use that word,” he said, exiting the locker room.

Then he plays against PHX. But post-game he says nothing about the injury hindering him, but rather that getting the legs back was the big physical issue for him. Adjusting to the speed of the game was the other major issue.

I just found it odd that he didn’t seem “close” to coming back, then suddenly he plays and he mentions nothing afterward about being hindered by the surgery, but rather just the typical issues a player has when he’s had 10 months off.

Lisa

234 Andy

Good facts that matter.

dan

joe thornton only has 4 hits all season. unbelievable! the guys is 6’4 235 pounds and he has 4 hits in 12 games???? seriously he needs to get his ass kicked my a coach. Tmac is way too soft. He needs to be fired and a Mike Keenan type needs to be brought in.

sjforecheck

I’m 2 for 2 on road trip predictions so far. Loss to Columbus and loss to Preds.

It’s time for a win though. Sharks will will against the Blackhawks Friday by at least 2 points. I’m also betting Clowe gets his first goal during the game.